Dow Falls 12.61 in Lackluster Trading

By ANTHONY RAMIREZ

Published: June 8, 1994

The stock market closed down slightly yesterday, following the falling bond market, as traders posted the 11th consecutive day of below-average trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange.

Blue chips like Caterpillar and the Aluminum Company of America, cellular telephone companies like Airtouch Communications and regional banks like Banc One all fell, as did Nasdaq stocks like Microsoft and Cisco Systems.

Traders seemed to lack a compelling reason to bid stock prices higher. "The market is, if you will, tired," said William N. Allyn, director of listed equity trading at Jefferies & Company. "The good news about a growing economy, low inflation and strong first-quarter earnings is out of the way, and the market is looking for something else." Taking Cues From Bonds

Mr. Allyn said that for the next few weeks, traders were likely to bid stock prices up and down slightly, following trends in the bond market. But the stock market will be essentially lackluster until some earnings or other surprise next month prompts a rally, he said.

Futures contracts for commodities, a proxy for the inflation outlook of commodities traders, moved up slightly. The Commodity Research Bureau index rose 0.12 point, to 228.96, after falling for three consecutive sessions. The price outlook for copper, coffee and sugar rose moderately, almost outweighed by declines in cattle, lumber and pork bellies.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.61 points, to 3,755.91, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.67 point, to 458.21. The smaller-company Nasdaq composite index fell 4.13 points, to 739.30. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was again less than normal, with 234.7 million shares changing hands, about 21 percent less than the average of 297 million shares this year.

The Sprint Corporation, frustrated about failed merger talks with Electronic Data Systems, said yesterday that it was considering selling minority stakes of Sprint to the two largest European telephone companies, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom.

The move would strengthen Sprint's presence in the European market, which will begin to resemble that of the United States when major government-owned carriers like France Telecom become privatized in the next few years. Shares of Sprint rose 1 3/8, to 39 3/8. Equitable's Real Estate Plans

The Equitable Companies said it planned to expand its real estate operations by providing $1 billion in hotel financing. Equitable stock fell 1/4, to 22 1/4.

Of the 30 components of the Dow industrial average, 14 fell. The declining components were led by Caterpillar, which fell 2 1/4, to 106, on no apparent news.

Of the 500 components that make up the S.& P. 500, 247 fell, led by the Harris Corporation, the electronics, communications and office equipment company. Its stock fell 1/8, to 48 3/4.

Microsoft, the software giant, was again the most active stock at 10.4 million shares, after Monday's one-day Nasdaq record of 47.8 million shares. Microsoft was included in the S.& P. 500 yesterday, but it stock fell 7/8, to 53 5/8.

The second-most-active stock, at 4.4 million shares, was Chrysler, which fell 7/8, to 45 1/2.

Table: "The Favorite Stocks" shows performance of the 15 issues with the most shareholders.